What to do with all those left over hot peppers

Well, it’s the beginning of November, and Rachel and I just got back from a week’s trip to Puerto Rico (which you’ll be reading about shortly). The weather is now approaching the 50’s, and I still had a ton of bird peppers left on the hot pepper plants. What to do? Pick ’em all off and make hot vinegar peppers.

This was today’s yield after stripping all my plants. As you can see, there’s a lot of green ones, but that’s just fine.

Got too many hot peppers? Here’s a quick and easy project. Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

Get yourself a bottle of white vinegar. You might need more than one bottle, depending on how many jars and peppers you have.

I also happened to have several containers of Daisy Martinez’s Vinagre maturing in my fridge. Now was the ideal time to use up the rest of it as a base liquid to cook the peppers in.

Heat up a big pot or saucepan, filling it with White Vinegar and/or Vinagre. When the vinegar is boiling, add the hot peppers and season with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Add lots of raw garlic cloves, and simmer the peppers until they become soft, for about 10-15 minutes.

Vinegar Peppers simmering. Once fully cooked, you can pour into containers, or pour into a blender/food processor for making into hot sauce.

Fill up Mason jars or deli containers with the cooked hot peppers and garlic, and pour the vinegar liquid over the top. Add more vinegar if needed to fill the containers and allow to cool down. Close the lids and put in the refrigerator. Enjoy.

As you use up the vinegar, top off with more vinegar, and continue to store in the refrigerator. The peppers will continue to cure, with the vinegar getting a stronger and stronger flavor over time.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, November 2nd, 2008 at 6:21 pm and is filed under Food, General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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15 Responses to What to do with all those left over hot peppers

Assuming you want to cook something with the peppers from this at some point, I bet you can easily do the reverse, and replenish the peppers as well as the vinegar. You can just have an ongoing cycle, where you alternate using (and replacing) vinegar and peppers.

One thought in passing: it might be smart to (a) halve the garlic cloves and (b) boil them separately in vinegar for 15 minutes before adding that vinegar to the chilies and continuing the process. Garlic cloves can harbor Clostridium botulinum, and the small amount of extra time and handling can make sure that the botulinus bacilli are all well killed. And if adding more garlic to the jars later, be sure to vinegar-boil it for 15 minutes first.

Anyway, we perform your basic routine every year with the Habaneros we raise in the kitchen window. Wowie! — is that great stuff…!

I meant to comment on what a beautiful shot of all those different types of colorful peppers. Great Pic! For years the Italian kitchen has mostly been limited to Cherry Peppers, Pepperoncini, & Bell Peppers, but recently we have been experimenting with all types of pepper varieties. I’ve been cooking with something called a Jamaican Pepper which comes in three stages – Green, Yellow, then Amber. Obviously, the last stage (Amber) is the most spicy, but it is also the most flavorful. We incorporate this Pepper in our Arrabiatta dishes especially for our patrons who have built up an immunity towards spiced Cherry Peppers. People love the flavor and texture of these peppers, and the presentation is second to none. I’d love to read your take on Bean & Mushroom varietals Jason !

Best,
Gene B.

PS. Try shopping at a Korean Grocery store if you want to experience Fruits & Veggies you have never seen before !

[…] sandwich wrap, set down a layer of Pavochon, sliced pickles, low-fat Swiss Cheese, a couple of vinegar hot peppers and you’re ready to go. Wrap it up and smash it flat, grab your non-stick frying pan, and […]

We do this as well with our excess peppers. But (southern grandmother’s recipe) we don’t cook the peppers at all. Just peppers in jar, white vinegar over the top, seal in a mason jar. Let sit for 2-4 weeks, then unseal and pour liberally over greens, beans, or any vaguely vegetable-like substance, refilling as needed.

OMG!!! I really wish i had searched for this site before i tried to do something with our peppers!!! i have been asking everyone i see, “how do you make hot pepper sauce, with the peppers left whole?” no one seemed to know. finally my husbands brother said you boil the peppers. he did’nt know how long or anything else so i figured he did’nt know what he was talking about (as usual) i wanted to do this in the very simplest way. i know when my brother was alive he always made his own, but i don’t remember how he did it – it was simple. I finally decided i would try this technique – – i picked all the peppers, habenero, halepeno, and cayenne. then i cleaned, trimmed and drained them and put them in jars. ( 3 pints) then i brought some apple cider vinegar to a boil in the microwave and poured it in each jar to cover peppers. i plan to keep all jars refrigerated. my husband likes to eat the peppers and use the vinegar on his food. MY QUESTION- – -does anyone think my time and peppers are wasted or will they last awhile before spoiling??

P.S. i did’nt know if i could boil vinegar in a metal pan or not, thats why i decided to bring it to a boil in the microwave in a glass container. also, i guess i should have used white vinegar. (oh well) by the way, i’m not sure if i spelled all those peppers right or not………..